Abstract
Wildtype and horticultural varieties of red maple seedlings had different morphologies and physiological responses to water stress and abundances of an insect herbivore when grown in a common garden. Horticultural varieties of trees (cultivars) are selected for desirable and consistent morphologies relative to wildtype trees, but the ways by which morphology influences intraspecific physiological and ecological responses are unclear. In this study, we compared morphology, gas exchange and water use efficiency, and stem herbivory for seedlings of wildtype red maple (Acer rubrum) and two cultivars, ‘Summer Red’ and ‘Brandywine,’ grown together in a common garden. Seedlings also received high and low water treatments. Overall, wildtype seedlings grew taller, had fewer, larger leaves, intermediate rates of photosynthesis, and lower abundances of the scale insect Melanapsis tenebricosa, relative to the cultivars. Summer Red seedlings had more leaves, leaves with red coloration throughout the growing season, and the highest rates of photosynthesis, although photosynthesis was higher in green relative to red leaves. Brandywine seedlings tended to be intermediate in morphology, exhibited smaller differences between the high and low water treatments, and had higher leaf water use efficiency than Summer Red seedlings in April and June but similar water use efficiency in September. Total seedling water use efficiency, measured in September, was highest for wildtype seedlings. Both cultivars had more scale insects than wildtype seedlings under well-watered conditions. These differences among types of red maple aid in understanding how intraspecific variation in tree appearance—and the en masse planting of a single cultivar in cities—affects physiological and ecological responses, the provision of ecosystem services, and the condition of planted trees.
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